'T. rexes' race to photo finish at Washington state track

AUBURN, Wash. — A track for live horse racing in suburban Seattle turned prehistoric over the weekend as more than 200 people ran down the track cloaked in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes.

The 2023 T-Rex World Championships at Emerald Downs — an event that started in 2017 as a pest control company's team-building activity, but has since expanded to be open to all — ended in a photo finish on Sunday, with three competitors hitting the finish line together.

Ocean Kim took top honors in the 100-yard (91.2-meter) dash after officials agreed Kim, of Kailua, Hawaii, hit the finish wire just ahead of the pack. Second place went to Colton Winegar of Boise, Idaho, who entered as Deno the Dino. Seth Hirschi, of Renton, as Rex Ray Machine, finished in third.

The costumes worn by the athletes are a popular design of inflatable outfit traditionally used for Halloween. A fan system installed in the thin body of the T. rex costume inflates it, giving some fake mass to the outfits. 

The billowing fabric gives them an objectively awkward appearance, especially when running. While the T. rex may have been a graceful runner, it's unlikely the competitors in the T-Rex World Championships were able to match their athletic prowess. 

The actual T. rex roamed the planet between 65 million and 67 million years ago. A study published two years ago in the journal Science estimated that about 2.5 billion of the dinosaurs ever lived. Hollywood movies such as the “Jurassic Park” franchise have added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature.